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Topic: Gun Fails (Read 107625 times)

I agree with what you say. There are cultures where most of the men routinely walk around with a gun tucked into their waistbands. And, yet, shootings are rare.[1]

I lived in several poor countries where men walked into the bank with big machetes and knives on their belts and nobody blinked an eye. Because, although every man woman and child in the country knew how to use knives and machetes, it was unthinkable that someone would use a weapon like that on a person. (Until a civil war breaks out-- then all bets are off.) So the presence of weapons does not have to mean people use them on each other, as the Iceland case shows.

In some cultures people try to de-escalate conflict before it gets violent. In the US we have a combination of lots of weapons around, coupled with the tendency to actually use them, and to have them loaded, easily available and ready for use. We have a culture that, historically and psychologically, seems to think that violence is a good way to solve all kinds of problems.

In the US, I can't tell you how many times in an argument I have heard one or both of the combatants threaten to "go home and get my gun". Guns are brought up whether there is a car accident, some moms whose kids cursed at each other, a fight between teen girls over a boy or a dispute among grad students over an unfair grade from a professor.

That need to bring a violent "Dirty Harry" resolution to any conflict is a bigger problem than the guns. But guns add the horrible element of instant, even accidental death from a distance, where fists, sticks, and even machetes and knives don't.

And I need to get back to my own work on the subject. Leaving now. (Semester is over tomorrow night. Looking forward to having this done with. Bleah.)

If it helps, I can give you a ban for a couple days.

Thank you, but probably not necessary. I have my psych final at 1:30 PM today and am currently reviewing for it (doing quite well on sample quizzes, so not terribly worried). After the exam is done, I'll be wrapping up my term paper this evening, and then the semester is done.

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[On how kangaroos could have gotten back to Australia after the flood]: Don't kangaroos skip along the surface of the water? --Kenn

We crossed the line some time ago, it has just taken me a while to get around to the topic. Sadly, that topic is now so brutally evident that I feel shame. Shame that I have not spoken out about before now -- shame for my country, shame that we have come to this point. One story tripped me.

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A woman charged with killing a fellow Alabama fan after the end of last weekend's Iron Bowl football game was angry that the victim and others didn't seem upset over the Crimson Tide's loss to archrival Auburn, said the sister of the slain woman.

Way back in 2007, I personally invited Wayne LaPierre, the director of the National Rifle Association, to live in Baghdad. I had been there, less than 24 months earlier, and I thought LaPierre might appreciate the opportunity to live in a society which lived up to his standards. Surprisingly, he never took this offer up, nor did he ever visit the troops in Iraq, or Afghanistan for that matter, which is, well, normal for him. He likes his guns, but he is really not cool with being surrounded by them, like he would have been, had he ever visited our troops in Baghdad, or Helmand, or Kabul…or basically anywhere.

In Iraq, every single household (with a male that is) may have one assault rifle. This seems to be Mr. Wayne LaPierre's ideal. And interestingly, we have a country (a couple, actually) where his vision exists. Iraq and Afghanistan.

Once the Colonel said it was posted by the NRA, I knew anyone who sent an e-mail from there, never, most likely, ever read the Col.'s article.

I have this happen many times with my own work. Someone disagrees with something, others comes in defense of that person or thing. I once wrote a poem called "God Fuck America" and not only did people just reading the title (and most likely only the title) make comments about how anti-american I was but I was also a person who told "God" (apparently in the title) to fuck off.

I wrote once, years ago, a poem that had "fag" in the title and proceeded to get countless comments about how I hate gays though if they read the poem they would see that it was actually for homosexuality rather than against it.

Most people see or hear what they want, and never seem to want even to know the whole story. Someone says a word of phrase they don't like that person should be burned in hell or die.

I used to get actual death threats all the time. I haven't gotten one in a couple of years. Guess I am not as "bad" as I used to be.

Anyway, I somewhat know how the Col feels, in the sense of death threats. Though one of mine actually bought a ticket to Orlando to come and kill me. Good times.

Most people see or hear what they want, and never seem to want even to know the whole story.

No, they don't want to know the whole story. Not only would having the whole story disrupt their pre-fab world view, it might also take a personal investment of time and some spare intellectual capacity to think prior to flinching. They also never ask a question about a situation; instead they bark a response to a question never asked.

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John 14:2 :: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Another typical week. Unless you're one of the people who got shot, of course. Statistics-wise, this compilation records five cops as accidentally discharging their weapons, three neat freaks discharging guns they couldn't wait to clean, three generous patriots who shared Freedom Ingots with their neighbors (plus two more who kept it in-house, so to speak), two hunters who became the hunted, and two target shooters who became the targets. ...continued

It's amazing to me that people honestly believe having a gun makes everything safer. People have emotions, tempers flare for any small, medium, or large (sorry for popcorn pun) altercation and the next thing you know... You have a man who goes to supposively alert the staff, then "probably" went to his car to get gun and..well.

The article says there were only 23 people in theater and could've just got up and moved seats. Something tells me this would've probably happened if it weren't for the psychology changing affects of the "I have a gun!" component.

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Hguols: "Its easier for me to believe that a God created everything...."

Take your pick from among the upstate New York restaurant patron who accidentally shot himself and his guest (but kept muttering about how he had a permit), the Rochester, New Hampshire, man shot in the head (and yet unhurt!) by a neighbor's gun cleaning accident, or the young Janesville, Wisconsin, man who thought he heard someone breaking into his 13-year-old sister's room, so he just blasted through the door without opening it. There was someone in there, of course. But yes, it was his sister. And no one else.

Take your pick from among the upstate New York restaurant patron who accidentally shot himself and his guest (but kept muttering about how he had a permit), the Rochester, New Hampshire, man shot in the head (and yet unhurt!) by a neighbor's gun cleaning accident, or the young Janesville, Wisconsin, man who thought he heard someone breaking into his 13-year-old sister's room, so he just blasted through the door without opening it. There was someone in there, of course. But yes, it was his sister. And no one else.

Isn't Janesville WI the home town of Paul Ryan?

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John 14:2 :: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Actually, if you not talk to Republicans about anything political, social, economical, dealing with the human body, about animals, or agricultural, anything dealing with or not dealing with the United States, about or not about guns, sex, people in general, or the like and how the weather effects us or doesn't, or anything to do with religion or the lack thereof, and a bevy of other things...they really are quite normal.

Lauren Tannehill, the wife of Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, left behind a high-powered rifle when she returned a rental vehicle recently, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

What else could she possibly have done but have her high powered rifle with her? You can't expect her to leave it at home unsupervised. An irresponsible, thoughtless person might get ahold of it.

Besides you never know when you might have a giant mutant cyborg raghead grizzly bear demon terrorist on PCP climb into your rental car and attack you. Some neighborhoods are just full of 'em. Get 'em in your sights and blammo! Merika is safe again.

I swear some people have watched too many scary movies, think there is danger around every corner-- and decided that a big gun was the answer. Yikes!

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When all of Cinderella's finery changed back at midnight, why didn't the shoes disappear? What's up with that?

Actually, if you not talk to Republicans about anything political, social, economical, dealing with the human body, about animals, or agricultural, anything dealing with or not dealing with the United States, about or not about guns, sex, people in general, or the like and how the weather effects us or doesn't, or anything to do with religion or the lack thereof, and a bevy of other things...they really are quite normal.

-Nam

You know things have gotten crazy when any discussion of the weather--supposedly the most neutral of topics-- can become a political firestorm. Ooops. Not saying that there are more fires, storms or firestorms nowadays because of climate changes or anything. Sorry.

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When all of Cinderella's finery changed back at midnight, why didn't the shoes disappear? What's up with that?

I checked out this link and the first post in the comments section was this beauty:

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge'."— Isaac Asimov

I had not read it before, but it accurately describes so many aspects of life in the US.

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Providing rednecks with sunblock since 1996.

I once met a man who claimed to be a genius, then boasted that he was a member of "Mesa".

Scary. And the responses from some are about how more people should be carrying in public places. As if the gun fails don't matter.

People think that the real world is like a superhero movie where the good guys know exactly what is happening at all times, and the bad guy is easily discernible. (Plus, when the bad guy appears, the music changes so we know it's him.)

In real life, someone fires a gun in a crowded place, people start running and screaming, there are echoes and ricochets, smoke obscures vision and nobody can tell where shots are coming from.

So when[1] a gunman in a crowded place pulls out a weapon (or a suspected gunman pulls out what someone else thinks looks like a weapon) a whole lot more people can start firing off their guns. I know I would feel safer in public knowing that if anyone pulled out a weapon there would be lots of bullets flying in every direction.

Instead of just one possibly crazy, possibly armed guy for the police to track down, there would be multiple possible assailants, any one of which might be the original shooter. The police who show up at the scene will find dozens of people running around firing guns at each other. They would have no clue whether there is one crazy bad guy being subdued by legally armed patriots defending their liberty, or if there is a gang war going on, or if it is a terrorist attack. Plus, most people with guns are not accurate shots to begin with so nobody will be able to tell who is really trying to shoot someone or what they are aiming at.

Plainclothes police or security folks in pursuit of the bad guy who pull out their weapons would get shot in the confusion. You know it.

The former Marine has extensive weapons training he was also a safety officer at a gun range for 15 years. "I'm a huge firearm proponent so that it happened to me is almost doubley painful that I injured my own daughter doing something that I would have told someone else they probably shouldn't have been doing"

experts and responsbile gun owners, indeed. That's the human condition. And the penalty for mistakes with guns is really high. If the gun owner were the only one paying that penalty, I'd be all for it. But so often it is everyone around them who is at risk.

So even those with extensive weapons training fuck up in their own homes. Hmmm... is he still a huge firearm proponent?

Looks like Darion Aguilar may have committed a random act of violence. If so, he was not very good at his craft. I know that mall well, and he could have just fired from the second floor down to the food court and hit any of the 200 people who are normally there.

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John 14:2 :: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

...Here is one for you. Did you know -- because I sure as hell did not -- that more than 230,000 weapons are stolen from "law abiding citizens" every year? Yep, the "law abiding citizens" are effectively acting like the world's largest Wal-Mart for guns, for free, to criminals. Yeah, they do not mean to, but then they are apparently not smart enough to secure their weapons, so they are stolen, by the hundreds of thousands. ...